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New Study Aims to Reduce Peripheral Vision Loss

New glasses lens technology can increase peripheral vision.

The normal field of vision is around 170 degrees, and of that, about 100 degrees are peripheral vision. To understand just how narrow your area of clear focus is, try fixing your eyes on THIS WORD and see how much of this page you’re able to read. Peripheral vision is a huge factor in how we see our world, but for thousands, this range just isn’t there.

Peripheral vision loss usually occurs as a side effect of other diseases or trauma. It occurs when something has stopped light from being received by certain areas of the eye, or when nerve or brain damage has blocked the brain’s ability to process light coming from these areas.

The image below should give a general idea of how much of your range of sight this can affect.

Thankfully, just this week, a study was published that could make a big difference for those who suffer from these conditions. The study’s lead author is Eli Peli, OD. Dr. Peli is a professor of ophthalmology at the Schepens Eye Research Institute of Massachusetts Eye and Ear at Harvard Medical School.

The study focused on the pedestrian walking behavior of the visually impaired, and the collisions that often occur. By tracking these collisions, the researchers were able to build a model that calculated the angle that is responsible for a majority of collisions. It turns out this angle is 45 degrees.

This discovery compliments the previous work of the institute on the benefits of using prisms within glasses. This has led to the development of a new set that aims to direct the light in a way that converges it into the regions of the eye that are still healthy and functioning. This would give those with the impairment a view of events occurring within the range of vision that would normally be completely blacked out. This may not correct the ailment, but by expanding the range of their field of vision, the likelihood of collisions is drastically reduced.